Window cleaning device



Nov. 15, 1966 MPW United States Patent 3,284,832 WINDOW CLEANING DEVICE Clement L. Mciver, Wayland, Mass, assignor to Methods Incorporated, Framingham, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Apr. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 360,363 6 Claims. (Cl. 15103) The present invention relates to cleaning devices and, more particularly, to hand held cleaning devices particularly adapted for the cleaning of windows of buildings, vehicles, etc. with reduced physical effort and improved efi'lcacy.

Primary objects of the present invention are: to provide a novel window cleaning device of the foregoing type having a housing, which compactly presents a manual grip and encloses a motor drive, and a cleaning head, which conveniently is oscillated by the motor drive and is accessible to a window to be cleaned, when the manual grip is held by an operator; to provide a cleaning device of the foregoing type in which the cleaning head is simply mounted on and driven by a pair of eccentric journals, which rotate in unison in response to a so-called timing belt; to provide a cleaning device of the foregoing type in which the cleaning head is diamond shaped to provide at least one vertex that defines an angle of less than 90 for easy access to window corners; and to provide a cleaning device of the foregoing type in which the cleaning head includes a relatively durable rigid plate and a relatively disposable porous pad that are are joined at an adherent interface, which permits the pad to be stripped from the plate with case but to adhere firmly to the plate during operation.

Other objects of the present invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the components and interrelationships which are exemplified in the following disclosure. For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation with parts in section of a preferred device embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view with parts broken away of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view turned upside down of the device of FIG. 1, the section being taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. 1, the section being taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a view, in an exaggerated cross-section, of the adherent interface between components of the device of FIG. 1.

Generally, the illustrated device comprises a hand held housing 11) and an oscillatory cleaning head 12. Housing includes a casing, the upper portion of which defines a manual grip 14 by which the device may be readily held. The remaining portion 16 of housing 18, in combination with grip 14, encloses a drive mechanism (to be described below), which causes rotation of a pair of eccentric cams 18, 20, that project from the housing. Cleaning head 12 is diamond shaped in profile as suggested partly broken away and partly in phantom lines at 22 in FIG. 3. Cleaning head 12 includes a backing plate 23 and a cleaning pad 24, both of the same triangular shape. Cleaning pad 24 contains a cleansing agent of suitable, preferably silicone, composition. Projecting upwardly from backing plate 23 are a pair of journals 26, 28, which rotatably receive cams 18, 20. Accordingly, rotation of cams 18, 20, in response to the drive mechanism within housing 10, re-

3,284,832 Patented Nov. 15, 1966 sults in oscillatory motion of cleaning head 12 and con sequently of cleaning pad 24.

As shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2, manual grip 14 includes a longitudinally developed surface 30. In crosssectional profile, surface 30 has an outward round periphery 31 having inwardly directed portions 32, 34. These extremities continue with outwardly flared portions 36, 38 and reversely flared portions 40, 42, which constitute the remainder of the housing above designated 16. As shown in FIG. 2, housing 10 is developed symmetrically about a longitudinally extending central plane 44. The forward and rearward portions of the housing are defined by forwardly and rearwardly intersecting converging planes 46, 48, the forward and rearward apex lines of which fall in center plane 44 and the remaining boundaries of which are defined in conjunction with contiguous portions of grip 14, outwardly flared portions 36, 38 and reversely flared surfaces 40, 42.

As shown in FIG. 5, housing 10 is constructed of a forward casting 45 and a rearward casting 47. Forward casting 45 includes an outer wall portion 48 and an inner mounting portion 50. Rearward casting 47 includes an outer wall portion 52 and an inner mounting portion 54. Wall portions 48, 52 extend downwardly to provide an open rim 56, against which 'a closure plate 58 is removably abutted and aflixed (by such means as screws and tapped bores, not shown, for clarity). Mounted within the region defined by wall portions 48, 52 and support portions 50, 54 is a motor 60. The shaft of motor 60 has a rearward extremity 62 that rotates within a bore 64 in wall portion 52 and has a forward extremity 66 that projects through a bore 68 in support portion 50. Keyed to the forward extremity of shaft 66 is a worm gear 70. As is best shown in FIG. 4, a recessed driven gear 72 is journaled at one corner of closure plate 58 on a short shaft 74, one end of which rotatably projects into a bore in support portion 54 and the other extremity of which projects through a bore in closure plate 58. Rotatably mounted at the opposite corner of closure plate 58 is a recessed driving gear 76 on a long shaft 78, the inner extremity of which is journaled in wall portion 48 and the outer extremity of which projects through a bore in closure plate 58. Keyed to shaft 78 is a gear 80, which meshes with worm gear 70. Gears 72 and 76 are connected by a so-called timing belt 82, which is a flexible endless gear. The teeth of timing belt 82 mesh with the teeth of gears 72 and 76 and the outer face of timing belt 82 is smooth. Timing belt 82 is composed of an elastomeric material such as rubber and is reinforced by at least one endless flexible steel band that encircles gears 72 and 76 within the elastomeric material of the timing belt. Connected to the outer extremities of shafts 74 and 78 are the pair of eccentrics 18, 20, mentioned above. Cleaning head 12, in profile, is a tetragon having equal sides 84, 86, 88 and 90, a pair of acute apex angles 92, 94 and a pair of obtuse apex angles 96, 98. Acute apex angles 92, 94 are connected by a major axis 180 and obtuse apex angles 96, 98 are connected by a minor axis 102, which axes are perpendicular to each other. Preferably, acute apex angle 94 is less than 60 in order to permit the corresponding apex of cleaning pad 24 to readily be accessible to the corner of any ordinary window being cleaned. It will be observed that major axis 100 is disposed in parallelism to the center line midway between the longitudinal edges of closure plate 58 and that minor axis 102 is disposed in parallelism to the center line midway between the transverse edges of closure plate 58. As shown in FIG. 6, the underside of backing plate 23 is provided with a multiplicity of catches in the form of minute reticulations 104. Pad 24 is shown as including a porous fabric 106, the main outer portion of which is impregnated with a suitable cleansing fluid, preferably a volatile silicone fluid, and the inner surface of which has, afiixed thereto by a suitable adhesive 108, a multiplicity of catches in the form of minute filamentary hooks 110. When cleaning pad 24 is pressed against backing plate 23, hooks 110 and reticulations 104 become enmeshed. The result is that pad 106 may be simply aflixed to backing plate 23 merely by the application of manual pressure but may be stripped therefrom merely by grasping an edge thereof.

In operation, replacement cleaning pads 24 may be simply aflixed to cleaning head 12 as desired and a switch (not shown) may be turned on or off as desired in order to control the operation of motor 60 and the consequent oscillation of cleaning head 12. The intermeshing of hooks 110 and reticulations 104 is such that the cleaning pad and backing plate are held firmly together notwithstanding the large vector forces generated parallel thereto during use but the cleaning pad and backing plate nevertheless may be stripped readily apart. By virtue of the fact that apex angles 92, 94 are considerably less than 90, they may be readily projected into the corners of windows being cleaned. By virtue of the arrangement of gears 72, 76 and timing belt 82, moving parts in the drive system are kept to a minimum but maximum stability of the system is assured by enabling eccentrics 18, 28 to be as far as possible from each other, viz at opposite corners of closure plate 58. Backing plate 23 is composed of a plastic such that bushings 26, 28 may be flexibly removed from eccentrics 18, 28.

The present invention thus provides a simple but efficacious window cleaning device that is of light weight and rugged durability. Since certain changes may be made in the above description and the accompanying drawings without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above disclosure be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A window cleaning device comprising a casing, said casing providing a handle portion and a base portion, said handle portion being at least in part uniformly elongated and providing a grip in cross-section, a drive motor Within said housing, a pair of gears rotatably mounted at opposite corners of said base portion, a timing belt connecting said gears, a Worm gear drive interconnecting said motor and one of said gears, shafts extending from said gears through said base portion, eccentrics on said shafts externally of said base portion, a cleaning head having a backing plate and a cleaning pad, a pair of journals projecting from said backing plate, said eccentrics being seated in said journals, said eccentrics being removable from said journals, said backing plate presenting a multiplicity of catches, said pad impregnated with a cleansing composition, said pad having at one face thereof a multiplicity of catches, said catches being interconnectable, said cleansing head being diamond shaped in crosssectional profile, said profile being provided with four equal sides, a pair of opposed acute apex angles and a pair of opposed obtuse apex angles, an axis connecting said opposed acute apex angles and an axis connecting said opposed acute obtusevangles, the axes being perpendicular to each other, the major aXis being substantially parallel to the opposed longitudinal edges of said base.

2. The window cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said motor is largely encompassed by said handle.

3. The window cleaning device of claim 1, wherein said timing belt is flexible and endless.

4. A window cleaning device comprising a casing and a head, a motor in said casing, a pair of shafts journaled in said casing, the inner end of one of said shafts being driven by said motor, eccentrics on the outer ends of said shafts, journals on said head for receiving said eccentrics, gears aflixed to said shafts and a timing belt in mesh with said gears, whereby said motor is adapted to cause oscillatory motion of said head.

5. A window cleaning device comprising a casing, said casing providing a handle portion and a base portion, said handle portion being at least in part elongated and providing a grip in cross-section, a drive motor within said casing, a pair of gears rotatably mounted at opposite corners of said base portion, means interconnecting said gears, means interconnecting said motor and one of said gears, shafts extending from said gears through said base portion, eccentrics on said shafts externally of said base portion, a cleaning head having a backing plate and a cleaning pad, a pair of journals projecting from said backing plate, said eccentrics being seated in said journals, said eccentrics being removable from said journals, a pad impregnated with a cleansing composition, said pad and said backing plate being interconnectable, said cleansing head having a generally angular apex projecting beyond said casing substantially in the direction of elongation of said handle portion, whereby said apex is oscillated for the performance of cleaning the corners of windows.

6. The window cleaning device of claim 5, wherein said means interconnecting said gears is a flexible, endless timing belt.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,162,784 12/19'15 Kajerdt 15232X 1,553,456 9/1925 Metrakos l549 2,247,993 7/1941 Fisker 15---98 X 2,590,913 4/1952 Adams l5-l03 2,877,478 3/1959 Kohlwey et a1. 151l9.l 2,968,187 1/1961' Happe 74-2l6.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 575,825 4/ 1958 Italy.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

WALTER SCHEEL, Examiner.

L. G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner. 

4. A WINDOW CLEANING DEVICE COMPRISING A CASING AND A HEAD, A MOTOR IN SAID CASING, A PAIR OF SHAFTS JOURNALED IN SAID CASING, THE INNER END OF ONE OF SAID SHAFTS BEING DRIVEN BY SAID MOTOR, ECCENTRICES ON THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID SHAFTS, JOURNALS ON SAID HEAD FOR RECEIVING SAID ECCENTRICS, GEARS AFFIXED TO SAID SHAFTS AND A TIMING BELT IN MESH WITH SAID GEARS, WHEREBY SAID MOTOR IS ADAPTED TO CAUSE OSCILLATORY MOTION OF SAID HEAD. 